More on environment

MANHATTAN — Indian Point was built to withstand various combinations of natural disasters, and improvements since the 9/11 terrorist attacks have strengthened the nuclear plant's defenses, security officials told state senators Friday.

"Nuclear power stations are the most hardened facilities in the United States," Indian Point security head Dan Gagnon told a Senate hearing on homeland security. "To put it in layman's terms, it's essentially an industrial setting inside a military installation during wartime activity."

Gagnon and two other Indian Point officials testified for about 30 minutes of an all-day hearing held in the state Senate building in New York City.

Sen. Greg Ball, R-Carmel, who chairs the Senate Veterans, Homeland Security & Military Affairs Committee, called the hearing as the state approaches the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, to "assess the state of security in New York."

The six-member panel heard from federal lawmakers, New York City police leaders, private-protection executives and immigration officials.

Indian Point's presentation seemed quiet by comparison with a discussion about Muslims in America and whether a group within that population is working to undermine the U.S. Constitution and replace it with Islamic law.

Ball and fellow Sen. Eric Adams, D-Prospect Heights, exchanged angry words when Adams held up the Quran and said it wasn't a threat, rebutting the testimony of Nonie Darwish, co-founder of www.FormerMuslimsUnited.org.

Darwish had told the panel of growing up Muslim in Egypt before coming to America and that she worried about some anti-American Muslims infiltrating U.S. institutions to bring the democracy down.

"I want to know why are we allowing her, Chair, to bring this poison into a hearing that is dealing with 'Are we ready in 10 years?' " Adams said.

Ball said Adams was "out of line" and playing to the media when the focus of the hearing was to get diverse points of view and work on real solutions.

"Let's let Nonie speak," Ball said. Other senators agreed.

Indian Point's former top executive, Fred Dacimo, now running the nuclear plant's relicensing efforts, said testifying about the plant's ability to withstand natural disasters and terrorism was important.

"What they're doing is a good thing to do," Dacimo said. "Everybody's real uptight with Japan, so the nuclear industry has become a real focus of everybody's attention. There's a lot more that needs to be said."